This project was part of a series of blog posts for an environmental organization dedicated to rehabilitating our wild places. My role was to reshape existing copy to create a more cohesive piece while maintaining the author’s voice and style.

At a glance:

At The Ocean Blue Project, we are determined to restore biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest and its neighboring Cerrado region—one tree at a time.

The Amazon is the most biodiverse tropical rainforest on the planet, with one in ten wildlife species depending on its canopy for life. Vital for global biodiversity and combating carbon dioxide, the Cerrado region is arguably equal in importance to its more famous cousin to the west. The Cerrado is a vast wooded grassland covering over 20% of Brazil, and as the world’s most biodiverse savanna region, 5% of Earth’s flora and fauna call it home.

Approximately 70% of the Cerrado’s biomass lies underground, holding up to 118 tons of carbon per acre. Along with the rapid expansion of the beef and soy industries, agricultural practices originating in the mid-20th century have caused mass deforestation in nearly half of the region’s biomass. If current trends continue, the Cerrado will lose tens of millions of native vegetation acres by 2030.

This is devastating news for endangered species including jaguars, giant anteaters, armadillos, and maned wolves. Local residents who depend on streams and rivers for drinking water also risk losing vital resources. Ocean Blue director Richard Arterbury believes the best solution for these potential problems is twofold: 1) immediately halt deforestation and 2) begin a process of recuperation by planting native trees and shrubs that wildlife depend on for survival.

Ocean Blue board member and Regional Director Marina Losi Monteiro grew up in Goiás, Brazil, home to both the Amazon and Cerrado regions. Monteiro is working with local governments in Nova Veneza and Brazabrantes to restore local streams and prevent water and air pollution. Streams and rivers are the lifeblood for inland areas like the Cerrado, and each one eventually flows into our one world Ocean. Monteiro understands how vital these bodies of water are for local communities:

“There is one little spring that falls to a bigger one called Ribeirão Cachoeira, and that one falls to a river called Meia Ponte, which is the one that provides water to many little cities, like Brazabrantes with a population of more than 3,000 people, and the metropolis, Goiânia where over 1.3 million people live.”

The Ribeirão Cachoeira spring flows into the Meia Ponte river

Beginning at the stream headwaters, named the “nascente” or “olho d’agua,” (“spring” in Portuguese) Monteiro plans to establish habitats for target species including the piauçu fish (Leporinus macrocephalus), whose survival has been threatened by degradation and predatory fishing. The South American tapir, or “anta” in Portuguese (Tapirus terrestris), has also been targeted. It is the largest surviving native land mammal, and remains vital for seed dispersal.

Another target species for the project is the giant anteater, or “tamanduá bandeira” (Myrmecophaga Tridactyla), an icon of the Cerrado whose survival status is critical. Tamanduá bandeira is one of four living anteater species and the only living member of Genus Myrmecophaga.

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